Levi's
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Hi G
The tokyo store is the flagship for the LVC XX brand meaning extra special where everyone of their items is a remake from a stage in their history or when they updated a model ie 1933, 1936, 44, 47, 54. They've remade jeans jackets and shirts from those years all recreated exactly using the original heavier cone mills denim (still only a puny 12oz) but the same stuff the original levis were made out of. Japan has indeed been the flag bearer of vintage denim for Levis and one of the best places to buy original pieces for years. The reason being is after they were pwnd in WW2 the US government dumped hundreds of tons of second hand clothing for the people to have something to slap on their back/sides. The Japanese young 'un's dug the clothes they got so badly (and quite rightly) they never really got over it, and here we all are with those people now doing it better than their suppliers. Funny old world. -
Hi G
The tokyo store is the flagship for the LVC XX brand meaning extra special where everyone of their items is a remake from a stage in their history or when they updated a model ie 1933, 1936, 44, 47, 54. They've remade jeans jackets and shirts from those years all recreated exactly using the original heavier cone mills denim (still only a puny 12oz) but the same stuff the original levis were made out of. Japan has indeed been the flag bearer of vintage denim for Levis and one of the best places to buy original pieces for years. The reason being is after they were pwnd in WW2 the US government dumped hundreds of tons of second hand clothing for the people to have something to slap on their back/sides. The Japanese young 'un's dug the clothes they got so badly (and quite rightly) they never really got over it, and here we all are with those people now doing it better than their suppliers. Funny old world.I know, you're absolutely right, but I keep (probably in vain) hoping that Levis would start making good stuff again no matter where you go buy their shit. Here in Paris, it is mostly Turkish stuff that just dont cut it. I mean come on, is it so economically unfeasible to cater to a certain niche and sell at a premium to cover the cost of quality??? When Levis did a collab with Jean Paul Gaultier, it sold like hot cakes…
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I know what you mean, its absolutely impossible to buy their new range without looking like a douchebag of the highest order. I guess you will have to look forwards or buy their 1977 XX's and BTW the Turkish cotton mills are pretty good, but only when producing the XX's. Otherwise its weak design and poor denim - ie gap on a bad day.
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I know what you mean, its absolutely impossible to buy their new range without looking like a douchebag of the highest order. I guess you will have to look forwards or buy their 1977 XX's and BTW the Turkish cotton mills are pretty good, but only when producing the XX's. Otherwise its weak design and poor denim - ie gap on a bad day.
I know I had to get a pair of jeans 3-4 years ago in San Francisco for someone who wanted a pair of levis from the states. Inside their store , I thought, Man, this is atrocious. I felt betrayed, or raped, or both, I dont know in what order. And those salespersons, I would have loved to just split one apart with an axe or a samurai sword. Fagottish (dont get me wrong here!!!! nothing against the gay community), obnoxious, pedantic and with absolutely no knowledge of the legacy, or even the product they had in the shelves. You woulda thought you were in a satire movie.
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I got my pair of LVC '47 501xx from an excellent lad - mate from another forum I post at… At that time he worked at an Levi's store... He does know what's what, but despite having sworn to me he'd wear Levi's for the rest of his life, just recently has he started inquiring about Iron Heart jeans... I reckon he'll buy a pair before spring 2k11... I'm no help, of course... God I'm sure I'm just as bad as a salesperson sometimes
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Maybe I'm overthinking it or I'm an asshole, but I can't stand their faux US pride stuff going on. It's disingenuous at best and a marketing ploy at the least. But maybe they are doing some things right, but I can't see thru my anger towards their marketing. Again, I may be over analyzing but they bum me out.
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I was a massive Levis fan for years, would not wear anything else.
But as far as I am concerned, in 1984ish they got the pump action shutgun out and peppered their corporate foot.
I actually started buying Gap selvedge because it was far better than the jeans that bore the 501 moniker.
The LVC gig is too little, too late and as Stokely says, disingenuous.
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I was a massive Levis fan for years, would not wear anything else.
But as far as I am concerned, in 1984ish they got the pump action shutgun out and peppered their corporate foot.
I actually started buying Gap selvedge because it was far better than the jeans that bore the 501 moniker.
The LVC gig is too little, too late and as Stokely says, disingenuous.
i couldnt agree more! TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE!
ive said it before and ill say it again…
I love vintage Levis clothing, but i hate Levis Vintage Clothing.
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the first run of those 1947's were pretty decent and at the time were my favorite jeans. i had a crotch blow out, took them back to the store and they gave me another pair of them for free. that was pretty cool. i ended up storing them forever and forgot that i had them and when i came across them not too long ago i decided to wear them again. after owning IH jeans and tons of others….these just dont cut the mustard anymore.
they arent bad jeans, but they certainly aren't great jeans especially considering what else is available these days for close to the same price or for just a little more.
the newer lvc stuff that i've checked out was kind of underwhelming and the quality wasnt anywhere as good as those first couple pairs i owned in the early 2k's.
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My dad worked for Levi Strauss in San Francisco for many years, which is how I came to get heavy into denim in the first place. One thing I can say about them as an organization is that although they have gotten a lot wrong in recent years, they have always been a stand up company.
They were the last major US denim manufactuer take production overseas, and even though they did, had policies in place to guarentee fair wages, no child labor and so on. They also resisted selling to mega big box stores like Wal-Mart for as long as they could.
I feel like they lost their way and identity for a while and it may be too late now. Everytime I asked my dad about LVC, he almost laughed at what a totally miniscule part of the business it was. He was much more concerned with the thousands of workwear and farm supply stores all through the middle of the country that were pissed when Levi lowered the rise of the 501 several years ago to be more contemporary… -
I'm not saying I haven't purchased new levis items over the years (or Gap or Nike for that matter)…I'm as guilty as the next guy but I would not call Levis a "stand up" company.
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chinablue/levis.html
http://www.robinhammond.co.uk/Features/ToxicJeans/ToxicJeans.html
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You know that's the truth! And respect to your father for working at Levis. The one thing they got right along with pretty much ALL of their design with regards to the collect pre 1966 and back is the RISE. They got that totally right. In fact i was hoping my IH634s' would have this rise but if there is a fault with them it is the rise being a tad short (for me) so when I sit the back of the belt line blows out and my underpants are on show. This is not a cool look for me. The 1955 XX 501 is the best cut jean ever (for me) boxy modern loose but fitted. You start going down the hipster route with a low rise and it soon ends in fail.
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as much as i dislike their denim nowadays…
i just purchased a levi & filson collab trucker jacket (sorry IH type III, i dont think i can rock the denim suit look quite yet)and man at least this collaboration is legit!
I haven't had the privilege of breaking in IH denim tops but this parrafin-coated cotton top is pretty stiff and looks like it'll break in really well. construction seems solid (although obviously not IH level) but i think this is a pretty solid piece.one word of advice though... size up if you want to layer whatsoever...
